South Market District names furniture company Arhaus as first anchor tenant

1.31.2014

The Times-Picayune – National furniture company Arhaus will open later this year in the South Market District, the first retail tenant to be announced by developers of the four-block project in the increasingly residential Central Business District.

Developers with The Domain Cos. said Thursday that Ohio-based Arhaus — along with CVS Pharmacy — will open in The Park, a $21.3 million second building in the South Market District.

The Domain Cos. are aiming to transform four blocks of vacant parking lots off Loyola Avenue into a mixed-used development of shops, restaurants and apartments near a streetcar hub.

“Attracting a retailer of Arhaus’ stature was essential to defining the retail at South Market and is a huge win for downtown,” said Matt Schwartz of The Domain Cos. in a news release. “Furthermore, adding essential services like CVS and Fetch will continue to solidify the Warehouse District and CBD as a vibrant, 24-7, mixed-use neighborhood.”

After securing financing, construction began recently on The Park, which will have 27,000 square feet of retail space, a 440-car parking garage and a public plaza, developers said. It will be built at the corner of Girod Street and O’Keefe Avenue.

The Park and The Paramount are both slated to open in October.Just across Girod Street, construction is underway on the first South Market building. Developers have not said which retailers have signed leases for The Paramount, a $48.4 million building with 22,000-square-feet of retail including sidewalk cafes and 209 apartments.

Arhaus, based in the Cleveand area, is a nearly 30-year-old company with locations in more than 40 cities concentrated in the Midwest and Northeast, with a few shops in Atlanta, Houston, Palm Beach, Fla., and Denver. The company describes itself as combining traditional practices with eco-friendly materials and sustainability in mind. South Market District will be its first Louisiana store.

“This new store location is surrounded by like brands at a destination point in the core of the city,” Arhaus President and CEO John Reed said in a news release. “We’re anxious to begin the build-out of our space and open our doors in New Orleans so customers can experience home fashion from our point of view.”

CVS will occupy another 10,000 square feet in the building with a store and pharmacy. Fetch, a pet grooming and supplies store in Mid-City, will open a 1,500-square-foot location.

The Park, a five-story building, was designed by New Orleans architects Eskew+Dumez+Ripple. It will be the first public garage in the city to offer electric car charging stations, according to a news release from developers. There also will be a bike-sharing program for South Market residents and a car-sharing program also available to the public.

With at least two more mixed-use buildings in the plans, the total South Market District calls for more than 700 apartments and 170,000 square feet of retail space with a $200 million price tag. In September, The Domain Cos. said it intends to add a hotel to the project.

The South Market is joining an area once dominated by daytime office activity, but now increasingly a neighborhood where people shop for groceries and walk their dogs.

Developers continue to scoop up and convert office towers into apartments, and efforts are underway in the nearby Warehouse District to construct new apartment buildings.

South Market District is benefiting from a number of incentives, including new market tax credits, a 12-year payment in lieu of taxes plan approved by the New Orleans Industrial Development board and sidewalk improvements.

The Domain Cos is a local development company first launched in New York by two Tulane University graduates, Schwartz and Chris Papamichael. Their other local projects include the Preserve and the Crescent Club, both mixed-income developments on Tulane Avenue.